Marlins’ Offer To Pujols Believed To Be For Nine Years

The contract the Marlins offered to Albert Pujols "is believed to be for nine years," says Yahoo's Tim Brown. The Marlins pulled out all the stops in an attempt to woo Pujols, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick, who hears that part of the team's pitch to Pujols involved bringing in about ten players to assist in recruiting and "make the organization's interest clear." Here are the rest of the latest rumblings on the free agent who ranks atop MLBTR's Top 50….

Cardinals GM John Mozeliak expects to meet with Dan Lozano,Pujols' agent, this week, according to Crasnick. It will be the first time this offseason that the two have talked in person.

Past reports have indicated St. Louis made Pujols an offer of nine years and $210MM before the season, but Crasnick hears that the Cardinals never topped $200MM.

While Pujols was "surprised" that the Cardinals named Mike Matheny their new manager, the hiring isn't expected to play a major role one way or the other in Pujols' decision.

Is what he is saying not true though? I don’t understand all the hate for these protesters. Big corporations are exempt from paying any taxes while poor families still pay…I dont think that is anything to joke about.

Apparently other people think so. As previously pointed out, when teachers and doctors start selling out 60,000 stadiums 81 times a year and then help sell nationwide TV rights to broadcast it, they can make that money too.

Great point, if teachers started making millions of dollars a year, I’m sure the Tax Payers would eventually start to have a problem with it, while no tax payer is forced to pay for Albert Pujols contract, we willingly watch the games on TV, or buy tickets.

Anything is worth what its purchaser is willing to pay for it, that’s the entire point in all of this, to prove to the Cardinals that their offer needs to be higher, if the market dictates so. Taking several things into account, including his history of elbow problems, his age (32) his declining OPS, OPB and BA. Some people are pointing to his decrease in walks, but he’s hitting in front of Holliday and Berkman. But he’s hitting the ball on the ground more and I think he led the league or was among the league leaders in grounding into double plays. He knows all this is not going to give him 30 million dollars, but he’s going to use other teams to bring up the Cardinals bid, if that’s even possible.

I look at it this way, is the owner worth a half a billion a year, or should the player who is the product get more money. I always go with the player, it’s the entertainment bussiness. An actor gets 10 to 20 million a year, TV stars make alot of money, heck some stock brokers get bonus’s worth 25 million. If a player can get the money then good luck to him, someone was willing to pay him. I also don’t compare pay to performance like most people do. It’s like Christmas when you were a kid, it will never meet you expectations.

Look.. I like the Fish also, but as have posted here a few days back.. Henry’s ’03 team he broke up, just like Huizinga’s ’98 WS team because the people of Miami will *NOT* support that team, regardless of whether or not they win or lose and my money is this team, new stadium, uni’s.. It won’t matter 1 iota..They have switched uni’s before and the fans (few) don’t care.. They just could care less..

If Loria buys a few FA and goes all Yankees on us, he will tear them right down, just like both Huizinga and Henry did when he learns that hard financial lesson that you gotta make enough to pay for ’em…

Henry did not dismantle the team like Huizinga did in 1998. The only key players that departed following the 2003 WS were I. Rod, who was a 31 year old catcher that received a huge contract from the Tigers, and Derek Lee, who was traded to the Cubs. They resigned Luis Castillo and brought in Lo Duca and Delgado the following year. After back to back seasons of not making the postseason the team was broken up.

Right.. He let Burnet walk, Moved his high dollar and fan favorite player Mikey Lowell, plus Becket got to Boston for at that time, 2 unknown prospects by the name of Hanley Ramirez and Anibel Sanchez in the winter of ’05.

It was a slow breakup of that ’03 WS team, maybe should have made it a tad plainer this time since went into a little more detail a few days back.

I just have a feeling that if Loria does sign a couple of $$$ players, then rightly so signs his #2 pitcher Sanchez to a contract he needs to addres that this team will get broken up around year 2 when attendance crashes in that shiny new stadium and the luster of it wears off.

We have seen this before and anyone who thinks otherwise is kidding themselves.. I truly do NOT like saying this as dearly enjoy listening to Tommy Hutton most every game broadcast and occasionally Old timer Cookie Rojas as well when can his Espanol version, tho mine is not the best, only because he was a fav of mine from his playing days.

IIRC, Delgado was brought in on a 4 year deal around $50 million, with a first year salary of $4 million. Immediately after paying him the one year of $4 mil, they dumped his contract off on the Mets. “Brought in Delgado” is extremely misleading, since they appear to have never intended to pay him.

I agree we need to see the names on the dotted line before believing all this posturing as well. I know Delgado’s contract was back loaded heavily but his 50 million was guaranteed. What if he struggled that first year or had some injury that made him less than the player he was, then no one would want that contract.

technically it was. i still considered it since Henry put together most of it (or his people) before Henry bought the Red Sox.

I gotta add this also… Henry, outside of Tom Yawkey has been my absolute favorite owner all time in baseball and for Henry to get Boston, after the Fish, my 2nd fav team after Boston was just absolutely perfect.

Most fun owners to watch for humor? a dead heat tie between Charlie “O” Finley, Bill Veeck and Georgie Steinbrenner.

Charlie O with his mule he had on the field before games I swear must have been Georgie.

Albert is really putting Mozeliak’s nuts in a vice with that…I’m still convinced that any negotiations he has with the Marlins are just to leverage himself into a payday (or pay-decade it seems) with the Redbirds. He knows that come April 2012, he will be wearing birds standing on a bat.

More than money, Pujols cares about his image. He built a statue of himself in St. Louis. Lebron James is hated, but that’s nothing compared to what will be directed towards Pujols if he leaves St. Louis. He cares too much about his image to do that.

At the same time, he wants to be paid what he considers fair – enough to show that he’s one of the greatest players of all time. I’m sure he’ll do anything and everything he can to drive the Cardinals’ offer through the roof.

Highly doubt it.. Cardinals made an offer a year ago and we still dont know exactly what is is.. 9 year 200MM? 9 years 207MM, 9 years 210MM, even hear 9 years under 200MM… I dont think the Miami Marlins are posting their offers at the moment.

Long term, you are correct. Short term, anything’s possible up to and including a 200m payroll for one year, making an amazing run for the postseason (with the bonus 2nd wildcard now!) and then in true Marlins fashion, trading out those players who made them successful almost immediately for prospects that will be 5 years away from the majors.

Maybe out of Pujols, Reyes, Buherle, Wilson and Papelbon they end up keeping 2 of them (Pujols and Wilson probably) longer term and ship the rest out in 2013 for cash and prizes.

You never know. It could happen. Just ask all those guys from the 1997 world series team how long they thought they would stick around in Florida!

You cant spend more money than your total revenue and in most cases you can’t spend much more than half your revenue in ML payroll and keep the ship afloat.

The team FO wasnt lying when he said they wont spend more than $100 million because even that amount is stretching their ability to pay by $10 million and that is IF they sell out every game the the entire season AND make a run to the WS.

I think Loria may have been listening to old Beatles albums too much because he definitely seems to be under the influence of one of the many psychidellic drugs that they promoted. With the offers he’s been throwing out there and those god-awful uniforms he just doesn’t appear to be right in the ol’ noggin

Actually if they signed both, the cheapest ticket would have to be about 15.00-20.00 for that 37,000 seat ballpark, but if they got mad-crazy coke deals goin on like Miami Vice-style like the old days, then the public can handle it. Sadly, the Panthers would have to relocate north where they belong. I wonder if all those events they plan to hold at the ballpark will finance these contracts like the way the owner of the Winnipeg Jets can finance player contracts with concert revenue because he owns the building?

That’s a lot of money to invest in just one player when you’re a team with so many other needs… the risks are greater when you have so many holes elsewhere. Even if he is the best player is baseball, all it takes is an injury… I’m not even factoring in age (yes, even Babe Ruth went through decline)

I’m not sure what they’re thinking… and the new logo? What’s up with that? Just awful. (Isn’t it a bad idea to wear black uniforms while playing in the sun?)

i’m just gonna say this- The Marlins have become a rather arrogant, latently racist club by declaring themselves THE destination for Latin players. I mean i get it at surface level; Miami and Florida in general are have a massive Latin community so transitioning into the United States would be easier for them, lots of players make their off season home in Florida, Miami in particular, so it’s conveniently located and Ozzie Guillen, a Latin man with lots of experience and success in the MLB, is their skipper.

But even with all that, it reeks of desperation and arrogance. They’ve already said they’re the best and only logical destination for Cespedes and now they’re going after Pujols and Reyes and all but dismissed the idea of Fielder… Last time I checked, MLB teams put together the best team they can, not teams comprised of a particular race and while Pujols and Reyes are two of the best guys on the FA market, there’s just something about their pursuit of these guys that feels unwholesome.

There’s only 4 guys in the entire Marlins team ATM that you would consider as long term building blocks. 3 of them (Stanton, Morrison and Johnson) aren’t Latin in any way shape or form.

This has nothing to do with race and everything to do with filling needs.

They offered in their estimation, the best hitter, SS, starter, and closer on the market. Of those 4 offers, 2 of them are white guys (Burehle, Madson).

Going after Cespedes has nothing to do with race and everything to do with location. It’s an easy transition and a smart market for Miami to get into. Same way LA and Seattle do a good job with Japanese players.

The way to get the Latin community in Miami motivated to come out and watch baseball games is to put a winning team on the field. Latin people like baseball period, its why they play it on ever island in the Caribbean and most of the Countries in Latin and South America. I get the point the poster was trying to make, and the Marlins attempt to draw at the gate, but its pandering really. Put a good team on the field and keep players on the team long enough so that fans and the community can adopt them as their own, and they’ll have success. If they were so interested in getting Latin people excited about baseball by having Latin players, they would have never traded away Miguel Cabrera.

I’m confused by your attack on the marlins, using their cities demographic is hardly ‘racist’ miami is what miami is, independant of the marlins. Doesn’t meant they shouldn’t utilize the demographic as a way to lure certain players..

also the notion that they havent targeted fielder.. when Pujols > Fielder, so why do you feel they aren’t going after the top FA’s? They also ‘reportedly’ offered contracts to madson and buerhle, they aren’t latin, those are just the top of the FA market for their respective positions

“What you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.”
-Billy Madison

heh heh, I’m glad the Mets don’t have to deal with fans calling them “Los Mets” anymore or whatever that debate turned ugly fast, we get it they had an usual ratio of latin american players compared to the other MLB teams, it’s still an absurd accusation, since omar is gone we get to focus on baseball, not irrelevant race issues.

Guess it’s the Miami Marlins problem now. Although Miami is like half cuban or something so it may not hurt to get cespedes for that purpose, those cubans take baseball very seriously.

If they wanted to become the destination for Latin Players, they should take their 200 million dollars, fund a bunch of mercenaries to remove the communist government in Cuba, and move the team to Havana.

The Marlins Front Office has a clear direction. They know exactly what they are doing. The organization was able to put together a plan before the offseason and they are implementing that plan. There is no other team in baseball that has been as aggressive on the free agent market as the Fish. The organization should be commended for going after all of these top tier Free Agents. Every Marlins fan out there should be excited about the direction this franchise is headed in. Not only is the organization now starting to keep their quality talent but they are also trying to upgrade the roster by going after these big fish. No pun intended lol The Marlins have one of the smartest front offices in baseball. These are baseball decisions and moves the team is trying to make. Are they trying to sell tickets and market the team? Of course. They are in it to turn a profit just like any other business or organization. From a business standpoint they know that winning sells. Thats why they are trying to put together a highly competitive product in which the fans will want to show up to the games to watch.

We’ll re-evaluate that post, if they actually ever sign anybody, the Pirates and Royals can offer players contracts all day long and not be at all serious about it. I’m not saying your wrong, but lets see if this is for real of its just a show.

They are going after the best players available. This has nothing to do with race or culture. The hispanic population does not represent the entire Marlins fan base despite popular belief. I hate people who comment on the Marlins or form an opinion about the franchise without doing their homework first.

You should be in baseball for three decades before you take a stab at a player on the level of Pujols… Can you Imagine Mickey Mantle playing for the Montreal Expos? Besides, it would just end up being worse, when the Marlins realized the contract wasn’t all that great, or they’d accomplished another World Series title, then trade Pujols to Boston or New York, who then trade him 2 years later to some other franchise, and he spends the last 3 years of his career playing for 3 different teams and ends up getting his 600th home run as a DH for Cleveland.

I’m interested in seeing if one of these guys goes to the Marlins. Seeing them active in the FA market is a weird thing. Good for them if they get it done. Seeing some stars in Miami actually being able to play this year should be fun to watch

Call Miami Vice, where is all the money coming from? It sure won’t be coming from merchandise sales, nobody is gonna buy the new jersey’s it looks like someone took the Miami Vice Logo and put it on a orange t-shirt.

As much as i still disagree with it – merchandise sales have been ridiculous since 11/11/11. the stores with them are packed and selling out of things, and i see so many hats and shirts in public… people in Miami will buy whatever is new and happening…

I work at a Champs down here that got some Miami Marlins stuff a few days ago and they are selling like crazy everyday. It might not look good but it’s definitely a hit down here which is what really matters. So keep your mouth shut unless you know what you are talking about.

9/$207 is close to what the Cardinals’ offer for Pujols was rumored to be prior to the season. As such, anything less than 9/$225 is a pipe dream. He’s not going to go the Miami if he can get the same money from St. Louis. Math still works out to $40 mil a year, but I’d bet on a higher figure, since I think it’ll take at least 10/$250 or 9/$235 to lure him away from the Cards.

I think people are taking way too much for granted in believing that a star player will sell tickets in Miami. In 2003 the Marlins had the 3rd worst home attendance. In 2004 it was the 5th worst. In 2005, it was 3rd worst again.

A World Series title did little for the team. I doubt a star player or 2 will do anything more.

How do you know for sure??? Are some sort of psychic??? How about you wait till we have no one in the new ballpark like in Sun Life to actually say that. So, zip up the mouth and put away the key for when that happens.

This is what Florida doesn’t understand, you can’t just put on a show, you have to make a baseball team more than that, you have to build a tradition, you have to make the baseball team part of the community. I use the Cardinals as an example because I’ve always been a fan and lived here most of my life… The St. Louis Cardinals are more than just the 25 guys on the roster, every generation has its icons The Previous Generation had Gibson and Brock, before that it was Musial, when I was a kid it was Ozzie, then McGwire, then Pujols. When these guys end their career, they don’t just fade away, they are part of the Cardinal family, and come back to support the team, most of them have statues outside the stadium, when we win a World Series, they get rings too. Cardinal Care builds baseball fields for less fortunate kids to play baseball on. You get attached to a player like Edmonds, Molina, Carpenter or Wainwright, you buy their jersey and wear it to the game. Compare that to Florida I mean, “Miami”, you have no veteran players to get attached to, you have a previous generation of Marlins fans, who’s favorite players were probably traded away after the 97 World Series. What’s the point in buying your favorite player’s jersey, when he’s traded away once they don’t want to pay them. The players that could fill these roles don’t last very long, Miguel Cabrera is just a former Marlin that they didn’t want to pay. If Miami thinks they can turn it around in a season, they are kidding themselves, you have to build a culture if you want it to last, if they don’t, then they’ll soon be trading all the players they say they are going to sign, and then start all over again in 3 to 5 years. Miami is trying to run this like a political campaign, which only matters until election day, it has to be more than that.

Im sure the Cardinals are prepared to offer Pujols up to 9 years at 25MM per year. That wont be till the last minute but they have something up their sleave. I think they learned from the Holliday situation not to bid against themselve. Albert ig going to visit with at least 2 or 3 more clubs and most likely get 1 or 2 more offers… Might as well wait for the offers then take a shot.

This organization has never been able to sustain a live gate that would allow them to pay for a $210 MM dollar player. Baseball fans is an oxymoron in the state of Florida. The Rays don’t draw well and the Marlins won’t draw well either after the new venue’s newness novelty has worn off. Ask the Pirates is building a new franchise has made a difference in drawing fans. IMO, the Pirates are in better shape than the Marlins right now.

If they did sign him, good luck trading a player in his mid 30’s with that much left on his deal. None of the big market teams will touch it, unless the Marlins eat big portions of that contract.

No, runs win games. Whether it’s by scoring more than the opponent or by keeping the opponent from scoring more than you, there’s truly no difference. This cute little catchphrase needs to kindly go away.

Yeah good point, slipped my mind. But still that leaves you one 1 and two 3s and two 5s, plus add the fact your in a division filled with elite pitching. Plus reyes and hanley’s attitude’s would create a bad vibe in the club house.

You make a great point, in fact, Reyes led the major leagues at 25 vibes below league average last season, and Hanley was second with 23! As important as statistics are these days, we must remember never to overlook attitude statistics!

Tex is very good and being a SW can take advantage of the short RF porch at Yankee stadium. Not to mention is one of the best fielding 1B in the game.

Of the truly elite, overall offensive +defensive guys.. Pujols, Tex and Gonzalez, only Gonzalez would be a better overall fit in that particular stadium.

NY made a quick strike at the perfect time to grab Tex and there is nothing wrong with it. They signed a outstanding 1B. If there is a fault it was in giving Rodriquez that 10 year contract when he opted out of his previous one, knowing pretty much that Gonzalez would maybe be available, Fielder and possible others who could provide offense and not cost nearly as much.

Even the people that can’t play at an “extremely high level” make hundreds of thousands. Where as teachers make $40,000-50,000 after they have already been teaching a while. Also, teachers mold every young life in America. Baseball players are paid for theatrics, and affect a small percentage of the population.

P.S. I’m not a teacher and I love baseball more than anything in the world barring my wife and son.

Maybe the teachers should have gotten Marvin Miller to represent their unions. Maybe they should hire Scott Boras to represent them. Who would pay the teacher’s salaries? How many school levies do you think would pass?

People spend plenty of money towards education. I spent 150,000 for mine, which is way more than I’ve spent on baseball. But lets not act like teachers are so great, in my 20 some years of school, I can count on my fingers the number of teachers who were actually good teachers and made a difference in my education, the rest were just part of hoops I had to jump through to get a piece of paper that lets me practice my trade.